Östman, Arnold
Östman, Arnold
Östman, Arnold, Swedish conductor; b. Malmö, Dec. 24, 1939. He received training in art history at the Univ. of Lund and in music history at the uni vs. of Paris and Stockholm. From 1969 to 1979 he was artistic director of the Vadstena Academy, where he attracted notice with his productions of operas of the 17th and 18th centuries. He then was artistic director of the Drottningholm Court Theater in Stockholm from 1980 to 1992, where he mounted performances of early operas utilizing period instruments, costumes, and stagings. He also appeared frequently with the Cologne Opera, taking its productions of II matrimonio segreto on tour to London (1983) and Washington, D.C. (1986). In 1984 he conducted Don Giovanni at London’s Covent Garden. In 1985 he conducted Le Siège de Corinthe at the Paris Opéra. He conducted Lucio Siila at the Vienna State Opera in 1990. Östman also appeared as a guest conductor with various European orchs. While he has become best known for his performances of early operas, he has also commissioned and conducted the premieres of many contemporary works.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire